Likely End of the road for Mussina

Mussina got bombed yet again, and sports radio all over NY is calling for his head. In a strange moment of clarity, I think the talking heads are actually right on this one. If Mussina’s out, who goes in?

The Yankees are stocked in the minor leagues with some young quality arms and should really give one of them a shot in place of Mussina. Joba Chamberlain can go back into a starters role. A player we wrote about yesterday, Ian Kennedy (and his sub 2.00 era) is deserving of a major league tryout. Kei Igawa has been solid in his recent milb stint, although he’s still giving up the long ball. Hell, even Ben Kozlowski would be a better option at this point.

I think the main question is, at what point does Torre “man up” to a veteran and sit him down (move him to the pen) for the good of the club. Mussina has had a great career & at times this season has been very productive. He’s probably not doing himself any favors in the upcoming free agent market with his production this season but if you want to win, the Yankees brass has to put the window dressing aside and concentrate on winning games.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m far from a Yankees fan. But when a playoff race comes around, you do what it takes to win ballgames. Getting knocked around early night in and night out isn’t going to get it done.

Mussina, three wins shy of 250, should gain a few gimmie hall of fame votes when it’s all said and done, although probably not enough to stay on the ballot for more than a year or two. That aside, he should be relegated to spot duty & bullpen work for the rest of the season if the Yanks are serious about their playoff chase of 2007.

As for the decision, it may be hard for the Yanks to move Chamberlain back into the rotation with his bullpen dominance. For that reason, I’d suspect Ian Kennedy to get the nod.

Matthias Koster

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